PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Timbers defender Nat Borchers has retired after a 14-year Major League Soccer career.
The Timbers announced Borchers’ retirement on Friday, but said he would stay with Portland as part of the broadcast and community relations teams.
Borchers, who spent the last two seasons with Portland, wraps up his career as one of only 14 players with 340 career MLS appearances. He started in all but one of those matches. He started in all 29 postseason matches he played with three MLS teams.
“If I could go back and write a script for my career, I never would have dreamed up this journey,” Borchers said in a post on Instagram.
The 35-year-old known for his bushy beard won two MLS Cup championships, the first with Real Salt Lake in 2009 and the other with Portland in 2015.
Borchers, who endeared himself to Portland fans during his two seasons, helped the Timbers advance to the championship game with a goal and a key blocked shot against FC Dallas in the Western Conference Championship.
The Timbers plan to honor Borchers at a March 18 match against the Houston Dynamo.
“Nat Borchers will forever be etched in Portland Timbers history for the role he played in helping the club win the 2015 MLS Cup,” Timbers coach Caleb Porter said in a statement issued by the team. “More than that, he’s shown throughout his career with every club that he’s a first-class professional, on and off the pitch. We look forward to his continued involvement with the Timbers.”
Borchers started his MLS career with the Colorado Rapids in 2003.
During the span of his career, Borchers also made three appearances for the U.S. national senior team. He played for Odd Grenland in the Norwegian top division from 2006-07.
The Timbers also announced Friday that they had acquired defensive midfielder/central defender Lawrence Olum from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money and a first-round pick in the 2018 SuperDraft.
The moves come a day after Portland acquired Argentinian winger Sebastian Blanco from top division Club Atletico San Lorenzo de Almagro. The 28-year-old has 12 goals and 14 assists with Lorenzo in 84 appearances since joining the team in 2015.
Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said the team had been interested in Blanco for some time.
“His work rate on both sides of the ball was also very important,” Porter said.
The Timbers are training for the season in Tucson, Arizona. Portland opens the season at home on March 3 against the expansion Minnesota United.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.